Smoked paprika

I gave my sister Lori a jar of smoked paprika when she came down to visit last month. Yesterday she asks me, "What do you use smoked paprika for?" My response was anything and everything. I guess I just got carried away with smoked paprika after reading some Spanish cookbooks. I'll be the first to admit that I use an awful lot of smoked paprika and Cayenne pepper. Those are my 'go-to' seasonings. I use that combo on meat, fish, poultry, veggies; basically everything. I love the combination of heat and smokiness.

After going for a 5 mile walk in the hills through Mission Trails Park, it was a little too late for a big, involved dinner. I also neglected to get a protein, so that pretty much ruled out a regular meal. No problem. Even I can make a vegetarian dish every now and then. I didn't want it too vegetarian, so I made sure that there was duck fat and beef broth involved.

The prep:

3 carrots-sliced
1 small cauliflower with florets cut into 1" pieces
1/2 cup cauliflower leaves-sliced
1/2 onion-sliced
3 green onions-sliced
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons of duck fat
1 tablespoon of butter

I heated the pan on medium and melted the duck fat. The carrot slices were the first in the pan. After the carrots were tender and had caramelized a little, I added the cauliflower. The cauliflower was sauteed until there was a some color on most of the florets. In went the cauliflower leaves, onion slices and green onion. After everything softened up a little I made a space in the center of the pan. The butter went in the center of the pan followed by the mushroom slices. As the mushrooms sauteed, I added the seasoning. I used my Santa Maria spice mix (salt, black pepper, garlic powder and parsley) and the old standby; Cayenne and smoked paprika. The pan was then deglazed with white wine. Once the wine had mostly evaporated I added the beef stock. This was reduced until nearly evaporated. If I had any cream in the fridge, I would have made a nice little cream sauce to boot. Oh well; it was very tasty even without the cream sauce. I actually put a little chimichurri sauce on my veggies. It just goes to show; with the help of a little duck fat you can even make a vegetarian dish taste good.

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Duck !!!

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I have cooked duck a couple of times in the past. The results were mediocre. At the time I had only a rudimentary understanding of how to make duck. I've done a lot of research since and I think I've got a much better idea of how to properly cook duck. After watching Chef John Mitzewich's Duck 'Two Ways' recipe, I thought I'd give it a try. I started by breaking down the duck.

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The legs, thighs and wings were seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, thyme and parsley, drizzled with olive oil and then wrapped in foil. I roasted the dark meat pieces in a 350 degree oven for two hours, until the meat was almost falling off the bone. Wrapping the duck in foil contains the rendered fat and produces what is basically a confit.

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When tender, the dark meat pieces were removed from the foil and set aside. I cut the duck skin into small squares and rendered them down in a cast iron pan. Chicharrones de pato......I made up something new (I think). The crispy skin pieces we drained salted and seasoned with Cayenne pepper.

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I put the leftover duck fat to good use. I had prepared some diced new potatoes and onion wedges. The potatoes and onions were seasoned with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, parsley, rosemary, and Cayenne pepper. I seared the potatoes and onions in some of the duck fat.

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After I got some color on the potatoes, the pan went into a 450 degree oven to finish and crisp up.

Next step was sauteing asparagus in a little duck fat and butter. I had sweated some sliced shallot in the pan before tossing in the asparagus. Once I got some color on the asparagus, I deglazed with white wine and then added chicken stock. The asparagus finished cooking uncovered while I started on the duck breasts.

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The duck breasts were seared in a cast iron pan. I did them for about five minutes per side on medium-high. Once the breasts had a nice sear on them, I pulled them off to rest. The legs and thighs went into the pan for a few minutes to crisp the skin.

By the time the legs and thighs had a nice crispy finish everything else was ready. The potatoes and onions came out of the oven and were tossed with the pieces of crispy duck skin. Everything was given a sprinkle of Parmesan and Romano cheese and a little chopped Italian parsley.

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The asparagus was tender and the stock had reduced down to a rich thick sauce. Added a little butter and it was ready to go.

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I sliced the duck breast into medallions and drizzled them with a blueberry/raspberry gastrique.

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This was just about the best thing I've ever done. Probably not the healthiest meal, but undoubtedly one of the tastiest.

A la carte

I've been busy the last couple of weeks and haven't taken the time to write up anything. Here is a quick run-down.

I went on quick roadie to Monterey two weeks ago. Driving by all those roadside produce stands around Castroville and Moss Landing made me soooooo hungry. I just couldn't resist stopping to load up on fruit and veggies. Luckily, I had taken an extra cooler with me because I was planning on doing some fishing. The weather wouldn't cooperate, so I had plenty of cooler space. My roadside bounty included some beautiful strawberries, blood oranges and baby artichoke. I had almost forgotten what fresh strawberries smell like. I am so used to the dreck that they sell at the supermarkets; half green, woody and NO smell or flavor. These strawberries smelled delicious and were perfectly ripe. The blood oranges were sweet and juicy. I haven't had blood oranges in a long time, and these were well worth the wait.

The weekend I got back, Lupe's sister, Lorena, and her niece, Emily, came down to visit. This gave me a reason to try some new things for dinner. I boned some chicken breasts and marinated them in a mixture of blood orange juice, cider vinegar, olive oil, chile (ancho/California) and spices (cumin, Mexican oregano, salt and pepper). I grilled these up with some apple chips providing the smokiness. The chicken was accompanied by oven-fried papas y cebollas. I seasoned and breaded diced potato and onion and then placed it on a cookie sheet in a 375 oven until the potatoes were almost done. I then put the cookie sheet under a 500 broiler to crisp up the breading. These turn out spicy and crispy; very yummy. I had to scramble for a vegetable to go with this. The chiller was full of chile and not much more. I decided to make a spicy ratatouille of sorts. I started by sauteing sliced onions and a little garlic. Then I added sliced chile (Anaheim, poblano and jalapeno). After everything had some time to sweat, I mixed in a small can of tomatoes and some salsa ranchera. This mixture was simmered down until most of the liquid had evaporated. A little crumbled cotija cheese on top adds some saltiness and tang.

Now that I am documenting my cooking efforts, I have begun to notice a dominant theme: REDDISH-ORANGE. The majority of our meals are on the red end of the spectrum. Must be the obligatory use of chile on everything from meat to veggies.

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I suck as a pastry cook. No matter what I try, it turns into a big mess; a multi-layered, whipped cream-covered abomination of Herculean proportions. I just don't have the eye for composition or the artistic skills needed to make beautiful desserts. As messy as they are, they are crowd pleasers. After all; who wouldn't want an 8" pile of ice cream, berries, shortcake and whipped cream, topped with a brandy caramel sauce. So it doesn't look good; who cares. I'm not trying to impress Gael Greene or a bunch of pretentious foodies; just my family and friends.

OK, I got that out of my system. Here is the yummy, but messy berry shortcake.

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Lupe piped the whipped cream around the base of the shortcake. I filled the shortcake with mandarin oranges and blueberries. I made an orange/Grand Marnier cream sauce to put on the shortcake (but I forgot it). On top of the orange-berry mixture went a scoop of French vanilla ice cream, topped with more whipped cream and strawberries macerated in Grand Marnier and vanilla sugar.

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As you can see, my efforts fall somewhere in the dessert continuum between Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor and the Cheesecake Factory. Big flavor and big ugly. At least Emily liked it.